Andy’s got more than enough guitars to keep playing ...

Blues musician Andy Gunn will be playing the Blue Lamp in Aberdeen on Saturday, February 10. (Photo: Marc Marnie)

Published:16:28Wednesday 31 January 2018

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Singer/songwriter Andy Gunn has been described as one of our finest ever blues players – and music fans in Aberdeenshire will be able to hear it for themselves as he goes on tour to promote his latest album.

‘Too Many Guitars to Give Up Now’ is a remarkable recording, if for no other reason than Andy’s journey through life to making it.

Born with haemophilia, as a child Andy was one of the patients affected by blood products contaminated with HIV and Hepatitis C in the 1980s.

For many years, he campaigned to bring justice for his fellow victims of the contaminated blood scandal.

These protests eventually helped to bring ex-gratia payments to others who were affected by the tragedy.

These infections played a large part in him falling into the world of alcoholism and addiction as a teenager.

He has now been in recovery for many years and tries his best to give back to others suffering from depression and addiction in the community.

‘Too Many Guitars to Give Up Now’ hasn’t been the easiest to make. Andy has been suffering from from Peripheral Neuropathy (numbness) in his hands due to his health problems, but managed to fight on to produce the album, which was inspired by a conversation about owning an embarrassing number of guitars.

When he was asked “How many do you have?”, all Andy could say was “put it this way, I’ve got too many guitars to give up now!” – and so this album was born.

Recorded on an analogue system to retain that warm classic blues sound, the album was recorded live over two days due to Andy’s ill health.

His determination and strength as a guitarist is truly inspirational,

This is an record as real as the life he’s led through the ups and the downs.

Andy can articulate the blues like no other, and his optimism andstyle comes across on this recording.